The nightmare I dream of

The test

I wake up to a knock on my door. For a moment, I think it might be Caiden, but he has never bothered to knock. I carefully get up and move toward the door, turning the doorknob. I'm surprised when the door actually opens; I guess they're not locking us in anymore. I look through the opening, to see Octavia standing there, her black hair with red ends pulled up into a messy bun.

"Hey," she says. "Hey," I reply. "How's it going?" "Good," I answer. This is very awkward. "What a lie," she says with a grin. Without asking, she walks past me and flops onto my bed. "So, tell me, what are you?" I look at her questioningly, and she looks as if she's just realized something and asks, "I mean, who are you?" "Alexandra," I reply. "Yeah, yeah, but I mean, who is Alexandra? Since we're here together, we might as well get to know each other." "Uh..." "Let's start easy. How old are you?" "14." "Wow, you look older. I would have guessed 16." I stay silent. "I'm 24. Do you have any siblings?" "No, I'm an only child." "Me too."

Octavia

I keep talking with her. At first, I have to drag everything out of her, but gradually, she loosens up and starts sharing more. Yet, I'm still puzzled. She doesn't seem to pick up on my hints about Karhu. Everything she shares makes it clear she's a merva, so why is she here? From the way Reagan looks at her, it's obvious he brought her, but for what reason? What's so special about her? As we keep talking, I realize she's actually pretty okay. At one point, I laugh at something silly she says, and she playfully throws a pillow at me. And before we know it, we're in a full-blown pillow fight, running around the room. When suddenly, there's another knock at the door.

Alexandra

I freeze, while Octavia cautiously approaches the door. She opens it just a crack, then swings it wide open, revealing Jack standing in the doorway. "Looks like I'm missing out on the fun, ladies," he says with a grin. "Are all the doors open?" Octavia asks. "Yeah, everyone seems to be gone," Jack replies. "Great, I'm starving." "Well, princess, let's get you some food." "So the kidnappers are gone?" I ask. "Yeah, it's not like they can turn invisible," Jack jokes, and they both laugh. "How do you know?" I press further. They exchange a strange look before glancing at me, making me wonder what they're not telling me. Jack breaks the awkward silence. "Let's find the kitchen," he suggests. As we walk through the halls, he adds, "I think the kitchen is through the living room." We enter the living room, and I'm hit with the image of that boy falling again; he couldn't have been more than 12 years old. Why would Reagan kill a kid? He didn't even look that badly hurt. He was just a kid, they don't make smart decisions. Couldn't they have just warned him? He didn't deserve this.

Octavia calls me from the other room, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I follow her. Both she and Jack start gathering food and piling it on the counter. Octavia hops onto the counter and begins eating, with Jack following suit. I notice how close he sits to her and the looks they exchange. It makes me feel like a third wheel, especially knowing they're privy to information I'm not. I also have no idea when they became so close.

After half an hour the woman, Maia i think enters. "To the living room, now," she commands. We drop everything and head to the living room, where Cealyn, Reagan, Ragnar, and Caiden are waiting.

"Your powers are back," Caiden says. I want exchange a surprised look with Octavia, but she isn't surprised at all. In the contrary, she looks happy and exchanges excited glances with Jack. But then his face tightens, and he makes a pained expression. Without me noticing, Caiden's purple tendrils reached Jack. They dance gracefully around, and we see his bones bending unnaturally. He screams and kicks until his eyes also turn purple. The purple strands from Caiden and Jack merge. I can't see anything; I only hear Jack's screams and Caiden's groans. A moment later, Caiden is thrown out of the mist against the wall. But the wall seems to suffer more than he does. Caiden stands up, and his strands retreat and flow around him. His face is deadly serious, and when Jack pulls back his power, Caiden attacks with full force. The purple strands grab Jack and drag him around the room. He tries to grab onto something, but it doesn't work. He leaves a trail of blood on the furniture. The cuts on Caiden's face are almost gone; the only thing visible is the dried blood. Why is nobody doing anything? Everyone is just standing there looking at the scene. They continue to fight until Jack's strands pull back, and he lies almost immobile on the floor, his clothes smeared with blood.